I Promised You Back Then
by PhoenixstarKina
Summary: Modern!AU, Eren promised Armin the ocean, and on their honeymoon he intends to keep that promise.


He could hardly believe it. It all seemed too unrealistic to him, like it was a dream he would wake up from any second. Half of him believed he would wake up back _there_ again, where the bad memories would chase away the wonderful dream. But looking down at the shinning golden band on his finger, he knew it was real.

They were not back _there_, they were not dying and fighting titans- which were nothing more than legends and memories in their new time. Mina, and Tomas did not get eaten when their group was twelve. Marco was more than just a bone fragment Jean carried around- he had the honor of carrying all of Marco down the aisle just a month prior when the poor guy caught a cold on his wedding day- and Annie was not in crystal, not in the literal sense anyway. She did start a band with Reiner and Bertholdt called the Crystal Titans though.

Erwin still had both arms (one of which was used to lead Armin down the aisle hours ago), Levi could walk perfectly fine (as proven when he led Eren down the same aisle), Mikasa was scar free, and- to both Armin and Moblit's heart's delight- none of them were suffering from psychological trouble.

There were times when Armin and the older male had jokingly place bets on which one of them would have a heart attack first from their respective partners.

But that was all in the past. The very _distant_ past. They were all safe, they were all friends, they were all together.

And _he_ was _married_. To _Eren_. Eren, who he had seen on the brink of death countless times. Eren, who had saved him even more times. Eren, his best friend, his love, his _husband_.

The thought brought a smile to his lips and he wanted to giggle and freak out about it all over again like he did their engagement. Armin was certain none of the girls would let him live that one down.

Honestly, Jean was worse than he was, and do not get him started on how Bertholdt had reacted to the ring on his finger.

A plane full of sleeping passengers, including said husband, was not the place for him to start giggling. No matter how much room they had in first class, Armin was not going to risk waking anyone with such a girly noise. Instead, he laid back in the seat, holding his hand with the ring on it tightly to his chest.

Eren had told no one where their honeymoon was going to be except for Mikasa, who had helped him planned it. Armin had a feeling a few of the others who worked with Eren knew too, he tried to ask them but the only reply he would get is that it was "top secret FBI information".

Armin was pretty sure his boss had known too, she was very accommodating when he asked for the time off. The fashion industry could do without his expertise for two weeks, it was not like he was the only one there. Christa and Tomas had practically shoved him out of the office once his three week vacation began. He had taken some extra time off to allow his nerves a chance to calm before the wedding.

Of course he did not need to worry his nerves about the wedding, it was his _loving_ fiancé that set his nerves off when he was not allowed to do _anything by himself_.

Eren said it was because of war flashbacks. Armin called bullshit on that quicker than he would with the others. It was actually Eren's way of keeping him busy while the others set up their wedding and plane tickets. A plane that had a fourteen hour flight time, and a wide awake Armin.

Oh well. That was the exact reason said plane had more than enough movies for him to watch. Or to pretend to watch as he truly just marveled once again at the fact that he was _married_.

* * *

"I told you to get some sleep on the plane."

Armin tried to hide another yawn behind his hand as Eren grabbed their bags from the conveyer belt. "'S not my fault…besides, it's what, ten at night here?"

Here just happened to be Taiwan, the Magong airport to be precise. He was shocked when they had landed on the small island, even more so when Eren admitted their destination was even smaller. With their bags in the small cart, Eren wrapped one arm around his sleepy husband. "Come on Bright Eyes," he teased, "You can sleep in the cab until we get to our next stop."

Armin sighed in relief at the thought of sleep. Maybe the movie marathon he had when their countdown to landing clock was at eight hours was not the best idea. The cab was waiting for them just outside of the airport and Armin was almost asleep by the time Eren and the driver had their bags in the trunk. The last thing Armin remembered before falling asleep was a gentle kiss to his forehead and two arms wrapping securely around his waist. Eren pushed his somewhat long blonde hair to tuck it behind his ear, and Armin was asleep the second his head rested on Eren's shoulder.

It felt like only seconds had passed before Eren was shaking him awake once more. Armin rubbed his eyes, wincing in surprise at the cold metal that hit his forehead when he did. Remembering exactly what that cold metal was, he was wide awake within a few moments.

They were at a dock, that much was apparent. Eren was putting their bags into a small boat and Armin grabbed the last one with him. Eren laughed and gave his lips a quick peck before jumping onto the boat. It rocked lightly with the force the new weight was thrown onto it with, but Armin could see it was sturdy. Without missing a beat, Eren pulled him onto the boat and started it.

"So now are you going to tell me where we're going?" Armin asked from his seat.

"Nope." Eren smiled back at him, driving the boat away from the dock. "You'll find out in about thirty minutes."

Armin leaned back and yawned again, content to let Eren drive- _wait._ Armin sat up. "Eren when did you learn how to drive a boat?"

A barking laugh was the first response. "Armin. I work for the FBI, under Commander Erwin, do you really think I wouldn't know how to drive everything short of a space ship?" That was one thing they never got rid of, titles. Erwin was still Commander, Levi was still Lance Corporal.

And Jean was still horseface.

Armin rolled his eyes. _I need sleep._ He thought, lying down with his head pillowed on the suitcase full of his clothes.

Waking up with a jolt, Armin realized the boat had stopped moving. Looking around, most of the bags were gone too. "Eren?" He questioned.

"Hey sleepy." Eren smiled at him as he sat up. "We're here"

"Where exactly is here now?"

Eren waved his arm towards something behind him. "A little private island that work decided would be the perfect honeymoon getaway for us."

More awake now, Armin took the chance to look around. The only building he could see on the island was a small beach house. "A private island?"

"Well, I seem to remember something I promised you a long time ago." Eren's smile turned into a slightly sad one. "I wasn't able to take you to the ocean after… you know. But I'm fixing that now. I brought you to the ocean, and we have two weeks to ourselves on our own little island."

And Armin thought his husband overdid himself with their wedding.

The thought of their own island for their honeymoon was too sweet and romantic for Armin to say anything though.

With the last bag in the house, Eren helped Armin out of the boat before hooking his arms behind Armin's knees and back. The smaller squeaked as he was picked up, tossing his arms around Eren's neck. "Eren, what are you doing?" He laughed.

"Carrying you inside." Eren replied. "Unless you want to try picking me up."

"No way! You're too heavy Mr. Muscles!" Armin rested his head against Eren, his nose bumping the other's collar bone. "Is this really necessary?"

"You're tired, aren't you?"

"Not anymore I'm not." It was true, he was wide awake and taking in everything. The shock of actually being _married_ had still not worn off.

Eren did more than just carry him into the house, he carried him right to their bedroom. It was pretty open, much like the rest of the house, it was more windows than walls. The canopy bed probably had more wood than the walls. He set Armin down gently on the light blue covers of the bed, kissing his forehead before capturing his lips in a longer kiss.

It was their first true kiss as husbands, and it felt as new as their very first one when they were just thirteen. It was different of course, no awkwardness, no glasses that Eren had to watch out for, no braces that Armin was afraid would cut his tongue if they tried making out, no friends to interrupt them.

Armin pulled Eren closer, falling back against the bed as Eren climbed on top of him. The hands cupping his cheeks were warm compared to the light breeze flowing in from outside and the feeling of Eren pressing him lightly into the mattress felt so right to him as his own hands gripped at the back of Eren's shirt.

The kisses began to slow until Eren moved to kiss his nose again. "How about we go for a midnight swim?" He suggested.

"Yeah." Armin whispered back. His hands slowly let go of Eren's shirt, sliding down to his sides and back up to run over his chest and rest at his shoulders. "That sounds good."

Eren stood up, pulling Armin up with him and out of the room. "Wait, don't we need our swimming trunks?"

"Why?" Eren questioned. "We're the only ones here."

"Becau- oh." Armin blushed as he realized what Eren had planned.

Neither talked as Eren took them out to the beach. With a gentleness reserved only for Armin, Eren tugged him closer. "Are you alright?" The question broke their silence.

Armin nodded. "Yeah. I'm ok." He took a shuddering breath as Eren stepped back and took off his shirt before working on his belt and pants. The other times they had been naked around each other paled in comparison to this. Something about it made it seem so much more intimate to Armin, and it made him all the more nervous.

By the time he had finished undressing, Eren was already in the water. He could see the expectant look in Eren's eyes and with another shuddering breath, he walked out to join him. Even with the moon hanging high above them and the air giving off a slight chill, the water was perfect. He made it to where Eren was, taking the offered hand and letting Eren once again lead them. They did not go in too deep, the water rested comfortably just under Armin's shoulders and the waves barely hit the tips of his hair.

Turning to face Eren, Armin was the one to pull him into a kiss first. "I love you." He whispered. Despite the initial nervousness, Armin could not deny just being there with Eren felt like heaven, a concept both foreign and familiar to them.

"I love you too." Eren whispered before continuing their slow, deep kiss. His hands trailed over Armin's back as Armin's hands ran through his hair. Bending slightly, Eren pulled Armin up, the water giving them just enough help for Eren to hold him up.

As the kiss broke, Armin tilted his head back, letting Eren kiss down the column of his neck. He could not help the light moan that escaped as Eren's teeth nipped at his collarbone and he could feel Eren staring up at him. His legs finally wrapped around Eren's waist, making his arousal known with a gentle grind of his own hips.

An answering growl stopped his movements and Armin looked at Eren, staring into the slightly dilated eyes. Lust and love blended together in their gaze and their midnight swim was long forgotten.

* * *

They both laughed as Armin's head hit the pillows. "Let's take a midnight swim!" Armin mocked playfully. "Oh wait nevermind, I just wanted to get you naked."

"Shut it." Eren nipped Armin's collarbone. "You were the one to kiss me."

Armin stuck out his tongue, yelping when Eren bit that too. "Hey! And it's not my fault. Blame the mood that seemed far too perfect to pass up."

"Alright." Eren laughed. "The _mood_ ruined our swim. And I think we should get dressed before you catch a cold."

Armin frowned. "You were the one to put me here. Now you want me to get out of this comfy bed just to put on one of your shirts and a pair of briefs? That's mean."

"Fine, get dressed in bed." Eren rolled over, getting out of the admittedly comfortable bed and walking over to their suitcases. He tossed the two pieces of clothing at Armin before putting on his own boxers.

Getting his underwear on was no problem, but Armin pouted when he realized he would have to sit up to put on the shirt. "Damn." Sighing and finally sitting up, he slipped on the larger shirt. Eren was soon back in bed with him and pulling him back to lie down. Armin moved closer to him, resting his head on Eren's chest. "You know, most couples would probably be on their fourth round of sex by now."

Eren chuckled, running one hand through Armin's hair and twining their fingers together with the other hand. "Well, we aren't most couples now are we? Most couples aren't reincarnations of two titan fighting geniuses who were idiots when it came to love."

"Well, when you're looking a fifteen meter _puppy_ in the eye I don't think love is the first thing that comes to mind. Exasperation because you refused to listen, maybe. Fondness because you were my best friend, and gratefulness because you saved me from the ape titan. But love? I think after watching our friends die, and seeing what love did to the others…we just focused everything on what we knew." Armin yawned after his small speech.

"Most couples also aren't so tired." Eren added. "We don't have to worry about all that now. It's over, and we won. We even got a second chance to live again. I say we count our blessings and leave the past in the past."

"Sounds good to me." Armin snuggled closer to Eren's chest, squeezing his hand lightly. "Did you plan out what we're gonna do for two weeks here?"

"Not the entire two weeks." Eren was the one to yawn next. "We do need to make a run next weekend to get more food though, the kitchen has enough to last until then." He pulled Armin closer before letting go of his hand and turning over, throwing his now free arm around Armin's waist and trapping him.

"Sounds good to me." Armin repeated. "Just…no more pointless five minute swims."

"Pointless twenty minute swim next time then." Eren whispered. "I love you."

"Love you too." Armin was mumbling with tiredness before he finally settled his head against Eren's chest and let his husband's deep breaths lull him to sleep.

_I still can't believe we're actually husbands now._ Even with the cold ring against his chest and it's mate tangled with Eren's fingers in his hair, it still seemed as nothing more than a dream.

And if it was, Armin never wanted to wake up. But as sleep claimed them both at last, he knew that it was real.


End file.
